In today's fast-paced business environment, employees at all levels find themselves being asked to handle more tasks, meet more deadlines, take on more responsibilities, and adapt to more change. Added to these challenges is the constantly shifting diversity of the workplace, where coworkers cope with generational, gender, age and cultural differences. Communication, both verbal and nonverbal, is at the foundation of everything we do and say, and is especially important in the 21st century workplace. The good news is that communication is a learned skill, and can be improved upon with the right training. The focus of this course is to heighten students’ awareness of workplace communication, and add new interpersonal skills, with the end result of becoming a more competent communicator overall. Target areas include: the process and functions of communication, behavioral patterns, perceptions as reality, verbal and nonverbal cues and behaviors, confidence, assertiveness, tact, anger management, criticism and constructive feedback, conflict resolution, team building, leadership, interviewing, and communicating more effectively with technology (email, Skype, texting, etc.).
Upon completing this course, you will be able to:
1. Define communication and its role in the workplace
2. Describe benefits of effective communication in the workplace
3. Identify and explain most common audiences and techniques for communicating with each audience
4. Identify and solve common obstacles to effective communication
5. Summarize the 5 Step Technique and explain its usefulness in communicating with your manager
6. Discuss the best approaches and communication techniques for delivering bad news to your manager
7. Describe ways to make positive connections with your staff.
8. Discuss techniques for deciphering the communication styles of executive managers
9. Discuss techniques for identifying the characteristics and drivers of executive managers
10. Discuss techniques for persuading executive management
11. Identify best practices for working successfully with virtual/remote teams
12. Apply proven techniques for effective conference calls and webinars

Taught By

Patricia Bravo, MBA, SPHR

Instructor, University of California, Irvine Extension

Transcript

Thanks for joining us in this course. My name is Patricia Bravo and I'll be your instructor. In this course, the videos, readings, and assignments will help you build new approaches and techniques for effective communication in today's workplace. As you know, communication can come at us from multiple directions in the workplace, and we have many opportunities to communicate with others on a daily basis. But, how do you decide which approach is best? Is there one technique that works more effectively than another? Does it depend upon who you're communicating with? In this course, we'll build upon the premise that it starts with your audience. Knowing who you're communicating with. By knowing your audience, you can then use a more specific and customized approach, which will increase the chance that your communication will be successfully received. In this course, you will have a chance to explore and add techniques to your toolbox to help you polish your communication. We'll be looking at communication through the lens of four different audiences typically found in the workplace. Your peers, your manager, executives, and direct reports. And, if you don't have direct reports, don't worry, you'll be able to tuck those tips away for future use. Or apply them to a project team that you lead. Let's get started. I recommend that you watch the four modules in sequence, starting with communicating with your peers. Go ahead and explore the course, and get started by viewing the first video lecture. Wherever you are, enjoy the rest of your day or evening.

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